


Monster Mash (It was a Graveyard Smash)

by bookwormally



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Werewolves, Witches, monster hunting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-04 19:43:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21203036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bookwormally/pseuds/bookwormally
Summary: Axel's looking for a black cat for his student. The cute volunteer at the shelter helps him find one.Then that same black cat leads an injured wolf to Axel's door the night of the full moon. What's a gay wizard to do?





	Monster Mash (It was a Graveyard Smash)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ingenious_spark](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ingenious_spark/gifts).

> Really expected to lean more into the meet-cute part of the prompt, but well, here we are with something different! Enjoy!
> 
> Yes, I know the title is a complete joke but well! I have no excuse, it's just fun!

_ Save a life this Halloween. Take in one of our sweet black cats to bring the spirit of All Hallows’ Eve into your life year round! _

Underneath the text is a picture of a black cat with bright yellow eyes. It looks so smug and happy that he wants to scratch under its chin. Basically, it’s perfect.

Axel folds the flyer up and shoves it in his pocket. When he decided to get Vanitas a proper witch familiar, he didn’t expect the world to make it this easy. Local animal shelter having an adoption drive where they’re specifically trying to get black cats into safe homes? For once, the universe is on his side. He gets to actually feel like an accomplished witch teacher, hooray! Vanitas is absolutely going to snark at him, but it will be worth it to see him go all soft over a cat that looks like him.

Ah, he’s providing the perfect mockery material. Maybe Ventus will thank him later. Or Vanitas will try to stab him. Possibilities.

Humming to himself, Axel heads inside the shelter. The unmistakable sounds and smells of animals instantly assaults his senses, but he smiles. God, he fucking loves animals. He needs to get a dog. He approaches the counter, reminding himself that he’s here for his apprentice and not to play with the puppies, and smiles at the girl behind the counter.

She smiles back at him and her name tag is shaped like an adorable grey fox. “Hello, how can I help you today?”

“I’m here for those black cats. I’ve got to find one for a friend of mine.” Axel keeps his smile friendly, but she immediately squints at him, pressing her lips together.

“Is it for torturing it?”

He blanches. “What? No! He’s wanted a cat for a while and I know how dangerous it is for black cats this time of year.”

She squints at him, leaning forward and he tries not to blink. “Hm,” she says and then leans back. “Okay!”

Axel is going to check his back for curses later. Now, he brushes his hair out of his face and exhales. It’s probably a good thing the cats have a tough guardian, but  _ geez _ . Maybe he’ll send Vanitas here to do a few volunteer hours and glare away assholes. He follows the terrifying girl who is only just over five feet tall to a door to the back.

The dog barking is louder in the back and he longs to go through the dog door, but when she opens the cat door, he manages to turn his attention to his actual damn goal. He so deserves a treat for displaying Herculien self-control.

“We’ve got a regular back here. Ask him for any cats you want to take out and introduce yourself to!” She waves and then pulls the door shut again. Axel eyes the cages, but it seems like the cats are all mixed together. He’ll have to find the black ones.

“Alright,” he mumbles. “Black cat, yellow eyes, smug attitude, where are you hiding?” He rubs his hands together and then starts down the cages. He finds a black cat not even four cages in and puts his fingers against the door to see if they’re interested. Curled up at the back, the cat opens their eyes, yawns, and then covers their face with their tail. “Thanks,” Axel mutters and moves on.

A familiar needs some personality and it needs to be a creature that can be in sync with its witch. So, Axel can’t get a cat that’s lazy or has an entirely bad attitude. Vanitas might be a snarky bastard, but he’s got a decent heart. The cat has to be able to keep up with him and be interested in him.

The next black cat he finds hisses at him and Axel arches an eyebrow. “Well, that’s what he did the first time too. What’s your name?”

“That is Soot. Did Ava let you in?” The voice comes from right behind him and Axel bangs his hand into the cage door as he jumps. He rubs at his knuckles and looks over his shoulder.

The other volunteer is better than any dog he could have visited today. Slightly shorter than him with blue hair, they’ve got eyes like the shifting colors of the ocean, and arms that could definitely lift him off the ground. Even the scars on their face draw anyone’s gaze to their cheekbones. Gay as hell, Axel never expected to meet someone this cute on a cat hunt. He swallows around his dry mouth and offers his hand. “Uh, yeah, I think so? I’m Axel. I’m looking for a black cat for a friend.”

“I’m Isa. Soot takes a while to warm up to people, so if they’re not willing to put in the effort, I would suggest a different cat. Why black?” The man shakes his hand.

Axel rubs the back of his head. “Oh, you know, he’s got black hair and it’s that time of year where you want them in a good place. It seems the most suitable.” If he says anything about magic, these volunteers are going to throw him out, he just knows it. The average person appreciates basic spells, but familiars still confuse the normals. Better to keep it to pets and Vanitas being a soft-hearted grump.

Isa adjusts the bun he has his hair in and oh god, how long is his hair? Axel really, really needs to focus here. “I suppose so… Let me show you Sprite. She’s Soot’s sister and much more approachable.”

“Stole all the friendliness at birth, huh?” Axel follows Isa down the row until they reach another cage. He thinks he sees the flash of Isa’s smile, but the man’s face is back to neutral when he opens the door up.

Immediately, a cat sticks her head out and meows at them. Isa offers a hand and she headbutts it, starting to purr as he rubs under her chin.

“Oh no,” Axel whispers. “How do you not take them all home?”

Isa chuckles and lifts her out of the cage. “Well, I live in an apartment that doesn’t allow pets and I have other complications that prevent it. That’s why I spend plenty of time here. At least I’m helping somehow.” He turns and Sprite has bright green eyes that are already looking at him.

Axel offers his hand and she sniffs before headbutting him too. “Oh, a spoiled princess.” He rubs her face and she leans into it, purring even louder. “She’s not bonded with her sister?”

“No. She doesn’t even seem to calm Soot down. They’ll do fine on their own.”

“Shit, I’m still tempted to take them both. Say I got one for each of them, made sure the personalities matched and everything.” Axel pets her back and the cat wriggles a little. “Can I hold her?”

Isa hums and then holds her out. Axel, well used to cats, scoops her up and goes back to petting her until she’s purring like a car engine. Oh yeah, this is a good cat. “What’s the process for adoption?”

“We usually ask for a vet reference and a personal reference if you’ve previously had an animal. If you’ve not had a pet before, we require two personal references.” Isa adjusts the lock on one of the nearby cages and then dusts his hands off. “Since we’re doing an adoption push, we should be able to process your application today.”

Axel grins. “Perfect. I was hoping to drop it by for Halloween.”

Isa gives him an odd look and then looks at the cat instead. “Well, if you’re interested, I’ll go get the application while you continue to introduce yourself.”

“Thanks!” Axel rubs under Sprite’s chin and then between her ears. “You want a treat?” She meows at him and bats at his fingers. Yeah, there’s no way in hell he’s leaving without this cat...that is totally for Vanitas and not just him to play with. Right.

Summoning a spark of magic to his hand, Axel holds it between his fingers and then offers it to Sprite. She’s not going to be his familiar, so he doesn’t let it touch her, but if she’s adverse, he can’t take her. She sniffs at it and then sneezes on his hand. Axel laughs. “Perfect. You are perfect.”

* * *

“We managed to reach both personal references and it looks like everything is cleared.” Isa taps a few pages into a neat stack and then staples them. Sprite is in a carrier next to his elbow, staring out with those wide eyes. “Any questions?”

Axel shrugs. “Nope. I got the rest of the supplies ready already, so I’ll get her all set up at his place. Any big tips I should know about?”

Those bright eyes catch his, something shifts in their depths, and then Isa blinks, looking down at the papers. “She’s going to be getting used to a brand new place, so patience is key. Any avoidance of food or her box should be noted, try different locations and then call a vet if it persists.” He pokes a finger through the gapes in the carrier, teasing Sprite who bats at it. “If you have any issues that don’t seem to be medical problems, you could always call here.”

“Could I call you?” Axel asks before he can stop his thrice-cursed mouth. He rubs at his nose, knowing that his cheeks are going red. “I mean, you clearly care about these cats so I would be getting good advice…”

Isa coughs and when Axel glances at him, he realizes Isa is covering what could almost be a laugh. Isa grabs a pen and a notepad and writes down a string of numbers. Axel takes the sheet when it’s offered and can’t help the grin that spreads across his face. Isa exhales, but the corners of his mouth are lifting. “For cat advice.”

“Right, yes, cat advice!”  _ Maybe cat advice over lunch. _ Axel carefully pockets it, fingers brushing at the paper like it might vanish. “Thanks for all the help, Isa. If you ever need a wizard, let me know.”

One blue eyebrow arches. “A wizard?”

Axel winks at him and grabs Sprite’s carrier and papers. “Later!” Whistling, he heads out the door to his car. He sets her carrier in the passenger seat, door toward him so he can see her. “Ready to meet your new best friend? He’s a total brat, fair warning.”

Sprite blinks at him and then curls up like she’s ready for a nap. Axel laughs and gets them on the road to Ven and Vanitas’s.

* * *

Trying to keep the cat carrier steady in one hand, with a litter box in the other, and ring the doorbell is more difficult than Axel expected. As if she can sense the bond she’s about to make, Sprite is moving all around her carrier, upending any balance he manages to hold for a moment. “Come on, cat!” Axel manages to smack the doorbell with his elbow and hears the chime go off inside.

Unsurprisingly, Ventus is the one who answers, swinging the door open with a smile. “Axel, hey! What’s all this?”

“A surprise for Vanitas. He home?”

“Of course he is.” Ven’s eyes roll. “Like he’d be outside in the sunshine that’s  _ good for him _ !” The last is shouted down the hall.

“Stop opening the door before looking who it is! You’ll get cursed with boils that way!” A rough voice shouts back. 

Axel, well familiar with Vanitas’s brand of care, snorts and follows Ven to the living room. They’re clearly in the middle of some kind of movie viewing, a nest of blankets on the couch, and popcorn and snacks all over the coffee table. Axel drops the litter box aside and then puts the cat carrier on an open chair. When he turns, Vanitas has shoved the blankets off his lap. “What’s that?”

“That is a very serious responsibility so we’re going to have a long talk first,” Axel says in his best dull teacher voice.

Vanitas flips him off and squats in front of the carrier. Ven leans over the back of the chair. “It’s a cat,” they say at the same time. Ven mutters something about jinxes and soda, but Vanitas is pressing careful fingers to the door. Sprite is staring out at him, eyes the exact same shade as Ven’s. Vanitas exhales, face carefully neutral, but Axel can see how gentle his fingers are. Smiling, he leans against the arm of the couch.

“Like I said, responsibility.”

Ven looks at him even as Vanitas opens the door and offers the cat his palm. “Why does he get a cat? Are you playing favorites?”

Axel snorts. “I almost got you one too. Apparently the sister takes a while to warm up to people. She hissed at me.” He glances at Vanitas and then back to Ven and winks. “Sprite here is much friendlier and she’s not adverse to magic. Pretty good familiar material.”

Vanitas looks up sharply, eyes narrowed. “I don’t need-.”

“A familiar,” Axel says over him, “is very good for magic balancing and support. They’re not a crutch, so don’t start with me, Vanitas. She’d be good for you to have and you could move to trickier spellwork. It’s a next step. Also, she’s a good cat, so shut up and admit you like her.”   


That gets a tongue stuck out at him, but Vanitas stops arguing and pets Sprite’s head as she emerges from the carrier. She leans into it, purring, and doesn’t protest when Vanitas picks her up. Ven leans even further forward to pet her back, grinning widely. He directs it right at Vanitas. “Just in time for your holiday.”

“I didn’t invent All Hallows’, idiot.” Vanitas rolls his eyes, fingers scratching under Sprite’s chin. “And it’s not my birthday. If I’m lucky, my plans will make it my death day, but that’s a bit far off.”

Axel snorts. “I hope so. I’ve got more stuff in the car; give me a hand, Ven?”

Ven nods and hops back toward the door, leaving them alone for a moment. Axel stretches his arms out with a sigh. “Hopefully, she doesn’t have any issues settling in. We’ll start exposing her to your magic once she’s comfortable here with you guys.”

“Thanks, Axel.” Vanitas’s voice is soft and his face is going as red as his eyes, but he turns away. “Whatever. You’re the teacher.”

Axel smiles, knowing how hard-won appreciation is from his student. “Hey, no problem. You’ll have to clean her box with Ven’s allergies. I better go get the litter before he kills himself.”

Vanitas groans, but he’s smiling as Axel leaves the room.

* * *

In the end, Sprite takes to Vanitas’s magic better than Axel could have hoped. She soaks it up as he gently performs spells near her, rolling on her back and rubbing against his legs. It causes her no physical harm, no backlash jumps from Vanitas’s magic to strike her. She curls up between his scarred hands and purrs until even Vanitas isn’t trying to hide his smile.

It’s nice to give him something good after all his hard work. After a week of work specifically in tying her magically to him, Axel is quite damn pleased with their efforts. Ven tells him that Vanitas has even been sleeping better with Sprite curled up near him.

“A good day’s work,” he tells himself cheerfully, filling a glass with wine because it makes him feel classy. His place is cluttered with spellbooks and too many random bundles of dry ingredients, but he settles in on his couch with just enough room to stretch his legs out in front of him. Wine and the Great Pumpkin, is there a better way to spend the night before Halloween?

Something rams into his back door and Axel jumps so hard that he smacks the glass to the ground. Swearing, he quickly magics the glass back together. There’s nothing to do but a towel for the wine and he needs to go through the kitchen to check the back door anyway. Axel grabs a dish towel and with a flick of magic, it goes to start soaking up the wine.

He pauses against the frame of the backdoor, peering out the window to see if he can spot anything. Nothing’s out there, but as he waits, he can see one of his trash cans go rolling past. With a sigh, Axel unlocks the door and steps outside. “Stupid raccoons.” He stands the can back up and considers just incinerating the trash rather than picking it up. Except, the bags aren’t torn open. He picks one up with a frown and throws it back in the can.

Fur brushes the backs of his legs and Axel looks down, ready to scream like a bitch if the raccoon is cuddling up to him. A black cat with bright green eyes purrs up at him. “Sprite?” He bends down and offers the cat a hand. They immediately rub against it and he can see the collar Ventus got for her, covered in red spots. “Huh, what are you doing here?”

She meows at him and then turns to look into his yard. Axel squints past her and something large moves out from the bushes and into the light of the moon. The wolf is huge, with bright yellow eyes and fur that looks silver in the moonlight. It’s also injured, blood dripping from slashes over its snout. Axel backs up a step, but the wolf, eyes full of intelligence, lies down instead of approaching him. It’s not even growling.

Axel looks up at the moon.  _ Full, of course. _ He shoves a hand through his hair and sighs. “Okay, injured werewolf. Thanks, Sprite.” She purrs at him, unaware of the concept of sarcasm. Axel glances at the werewolf again and holds both hands up. He can never remember how much human intelligence remains on the night of the moon. “Stay,” he says softly and then goes inside.

He’s no doctor, but he at least has a damn first aid kit. He brings it outside with another dish towel and slowly approaches the werewolf. Sprite, the adorable fool, is lying next to one of the wolf’s paws and washing her face. The wolf watches Axel with those yellow eyes, but doesn’t grow tense as he approaches. Even when Axel sits in front of him, the wolf just watches.

Sighing in relief, Axel pulls what he needs from the first aid kit. The antiseptic is not going to be liked, but he doesn’t want this person to wake up tomorrow with an infection over their face. He drips some of it onto the towel and then holds it out. The wolf sniffs and then looks at him. Axel mutters a protection spell that will keep him from getting savaged and then presses it to the wolf’s snout.

A growl rumbles from his throat, but the wolf stays put and doesn’t snap. Axel pats at the scratches and then pulls the towel back. There’s still blood, but he can’t really do anything. Werewolf or no, he’s not putting bandaids on the damn wolf. He pats at the scratches a bit more. “I really hope your healing ability is better than mine, because I’m not trying stitches either.”

The wolf huffs through his nose and Axel smiles slightly. “Yeah, alright. What the hell did this anyway? Most things know better than to fight a wolf as big as you.” He leans closer to take a look and frowns slightly. He can see the scratches clearer now and there’s something...wrong about the edges. Axel sets the towel aside and calls a ball of fire to his hand. It lights up the area and the wolf edges away, but Axel stills him with a touch to his face. “Hold on, it won’t hurt you. It’s the first spell I learned and I’m  _ very _ good at it.”

He leans closer now that he can see better. The edge of the scratches are rough, tattered. This wasn’t something done by regular claws. Axel inhales and this close, catches the smell of something under the blood. It’s like garbage but worse. He leans back to clearer air. “Not another animal, huh?” He rubs at his face and extinguishes the fire. “Okay, let’s hope you’re aware enough to lead me back to whatever it was.”

Sprite meows and Axel jumps in place. He’d completely forgotten about the cat. “Jes-, Sprite, head home already. Vanitas has to be wondering where you are.” She blinks at him and gives him a smug cat’s smile.

The wolf stands up and Axel gets a close look at how large his paws are. Sitting on the ground, the wolf is at eye-level with him and Axel’s mouth goes dry. A werewolf is a person, but they’re also a  _ wolf _ . He moves back and stands up too, definitely because the ground’s hard and not because he’s thinking of those teeth near him. He really needs to open the wikipedia page on werewolves and find out whether or not he’s offending this person.

He shakes it off for now. “Let me get shoes and some supplies and then we’re going hunting.” He offers the wolf a hand and it’s sniffed politely for a moment. The wolf looks up at him and then rests his snout on the hand with a sigh. Axel smiles. “Yeah, nice to meet you too.” He rubs the warm fur and then jogs inside.

His magic kit is sitting on his desk and he scoops it up with one hand as he pulls his boot on with the other. Hopping back through the kitchen, he manages not to fall on his face, get his second boot on, and sling his kit over his shoulder. Flush with success, Axel locks his door and looks toward the woods.

The wolf, he really hopes he gets a name in the morning, is sitting and waiting for him. Axel stops beside him and takes a deep breath. “Okay, let’s go find whatever did this to you.”

There’s a flash of wolf teeth, not a very nice smile, and then the wolf is on his paws and loping into the woods. Axel calls fire to his hand for light and goes after him.

The woods behind his home are not true woods, the kind where small children wander off to find a witch’s house of candy. They’re the half-cleared kind, where he can walk without tripping constantly over roots and can look up to see the stars between the branches. They’re pleasant during autumn afternoons with leaves crunching underfoot. At night, they’re eerie despite the bright light of the moon overhead; the branches turned into strange claw shapes as they wave in the wind.

It doesn’t take long for the wolf to get ahead, but he’s never entirely out of Axel’s sight. Axel keeps the hand with fire lifted, the other resting against his kit. He’s good at doing a handful of spells very quickly, but he needs his supplies to do anything big. Dodging around a particularly thorny bush, Axel steps onto a thread of a path, worn down by many feet. He bends down to study it. Something human has been through here many times, it’s different from an animal track through the woods.

Biting his lip, Axel considers the possibilities. He sighs as he looks up and finds the wolf waiting a few feet away. “I really don’t want to stake a vampire tonight. Tell me you’re not reigniting old feuds?”

The wolf’s lips pull back to show his teeth and Axel sticks his tongue out. “Right, like you could tell me.” He straightens back up and waves to the wolf. “Go on.” He watches the wolf bound forward, the white tip of his bushy tail glowing with light. 

_ Rough scratches, the smell of something rotten… _

Axel makes the fire in his hand brighter and goes after the werewolf.

When they make it to a clearing in the woods and find an old graveyard, Axel feels his stomach turn to ice. The grave markers are all worn down and crumbling. This is an old place, lost to the woods and to time. His fingers feel cold despite the flames flickering in his hand. The werewolf is standing at the treeline, his fur spiking along his neck and shoulders. Axel bends down beside him and puts a hand to his side. He can feel the thrum of the growl the wolf is holding back.

Well, he can’t ask for a clearer sign that that. Axel takes a breath. “Okay, old graveyard, please don’t be a vampire or a banshee. I’m so not equipped for monster hunting.” With a flick of his fingers, the fire in his hand breaks into pieces. Another flick and two of the pieces go flying out over the graveyard, casting long shadows that twist as the flames move through the air.

Nothing is revealed other than the crumbling stones, but Axel reaches into his kit anyway. No way he’s going out there without some kind of undead protection writ on him and the wolf. He lets his fire pieces bob around as a warning and digs a hand into his kit until he finds the water he gathered several full moons ago and then had it spelled for protection against anything that has already mostly passed beyond the living. 

Axel dips a finger into the water and then writes a sign on his arm. It glows slightly, its strength in effect, and then he turns to the wolf. Somehow, without his noticing, the wolf has stalked forward, sniffing at the gravestones.  _ Hey, did you know that as an animal, you’re an idiot? _ Axel rubs at his face, but the wolf isn’t growling so maybe things are fine now?

Something is still putting him on edge besides the whole ‘being in an abandoned graveyard in the woods at night’ thing. Axel straightens up and steps into the clearing, vial of water still in hand. The wolf looks up at him and then sniffs at the air. His head lowers and then shakes and Axel slumps a little. “Okay, so it’s clear now. Maybe you scared whatever it is off.” Axel opens his bag to drop the vial in.

Leaves crunch and rustle under someone’s movements and the shadows around them shift sharply. Axel’s head snaps up, but something is already lunging at him, ragged fingernails coming right for his face. He yells in alarm, trying to call fire back to his hands, but panic always makes it harder to focus. Sparks flicker around his fingers, but then he’s slamming into the ground, all the air pushed from his lungs. He wheezes for breath and the stink of something rotting fills his nose and mouth. He coughs.

Those ragged nails press against his face, holding it to the ground. The rotting  _ thing _ above him leans down and sniffs at him. It makes a disgusted noise and leans back slightly. A wheeze that’s barely a breath comes out of it. “Not dead yet.”

“Yeah,” Axel coughs out, “sorry, that makes us incompatible.” He knows it’s a useless venture. Ghouls are driven only by hunger and other animalistic instincts. They talk, but only to themselves.

The ghoul presses his face more firmly into the dirt. “Die soon.  _ Hungry. _ Tired of bones.” It leans over him, other hand considering his face. Ghouls feast on the dead and he’s betting this one’s not picky about doing the work itself. He squeezes a hand into a fist, mind full of sparks, but then something large rips the ghoul off of him.

His ears must have been ringing from the slam to the ground, because Axel’s not sure how he missed the growling. It’s loud and harsh and makes his breathing go shallow. The werewolf is snapping at the ghoul, growling threats and promises of violence. The ghoul shrieks and Axel claps his hands over his ears as the sound sharpens. Banshees predict death, but a ghoul certainly could bust an eardrum.

The wolf grabs one the ghoul’s arms in its massive teeth and makes to rip it off, but the ghoul catches the wolf in the same spot as last time and opens the scratches anew. Blood is flung into the wolf’s eyes, but the ghoul miscalculated. As the wolf flails to try and see and get away from the attack, it keeps a grip on the arm. Axel tightens the pressure of his hands over his ears and can still hear the shriek of agony.

Magic slides over his skin, the protective spell removing any trace of the ghoul’s rot. He didn’t manage to get it on the werewolf and this is the second time tonight he’s been attacked. Axel’s head snaps up and his hands drop to his sides.

The werewolf has flung the arm away and hunches down, growling loudly at the ghoul. The ghoul screams back, mouth open inhumanely wide. The wolf is dripping blood all down its face, but for a second those ears flick back in alarm.

Yeah, no way in hell.

Axel lifts both hands as he steps forward. “Hey! You want a meal? Come get one!”

The ghoul turns and the wolf barks as it charges at him again. Axel smirks as sparks grow into flames and then cover his arms in wreathes of fire. The ghoul shrieks again, tries to stop, but Axel pivots and flings one ring of fire and then the second.

They collide with the rotten creature with a flash of bright light. There’s one last shriek, a crackle of fire, and then a whisper as ash falls to the ground.

Axel dusts his hands off. “I prefer mine well done,” he snarks, hiding his shakes from no one but himself.

A snout nudges one of his hands and he turns, cupping it with both. “Hey,” he says softly. “You didn’t have to do that.” He brushes his thumb carefully over the edge of one of the scratches. “Look at you.”

The wolf exhales into his hands and then slowly closes his eyes. They reopen and Axel can see a circle of green at the center of the yellow. He looks up and the sky is beginning to go grey on the horizon. Dawn is coming.

He looks back at the werewolf. “Come on, let’s get you patched up before you have to switch back.” Axel sits on the ground and the werewolf settles in front of him, head in his lap. It’s a bit awkward to work around, but he drops the purified water onto the scratches. The smell of something dead vanishes and the scratches smoke slightly. He even gets a lick for it and Axel smiles as he rubs at those soft ears. The bleeding is almost non-existent this time, something better handled after the werewolf has shifted back to human.

Axel sighs in relief and continues petting between the wolf’s ears. He’s tired, the night a much stranger one than he expected. He slumps forward and puts his face in the wolf’s shoulder. Despite everything tonight, he can only smell the cool scents of autumn in the fur, and a touch of something warm and spiced underneath it. He sighs and hides there for a long moment, feeling the wolf breathe, feeling himself breathe.

He’s really not cut out to be a monster hunter. Axel straightens up with a yawn. “Come on, let’s get home. I bet you’ll appreciate my bed a lot more than shifting back out here.” He gets a wagging tail for that and smiles as the wolf nudges him up onto his feet. He keeps a hand between those ears as they start walking back toward his house.

The sky has gone a true ready-for-dawn grey as they reach the back door and Axel can barely stop yawning. The only thing on his mind is getting them both settled and then sleeping the morning away. He pauses at the door and looks down at the werewolf. “Oh, hey, Happy Halloween.”

The wolf snorts and Axel laughs. “Yeah, I know, what a way to celebrate.” He lets them both inside.

* * *

It’s just after daybreak when something leans over him in bed. Axel looks up blearily to meet eyes the colors of the ocean, brighter than all the fresh scratches over his nose and cheeks. He flushes, despite his daze. “Hey.”

“Hello,” Isa says. He shifts, embarrassed despite initiating their closeness. “I-.”

Axel will blame it on the exhaustion and the adrenaline from the night later. He leans up and just barely rests their foreheads together. “I’ve got a question for you.”

“Alright?” Isa arches one eyebrow, not pulling back.

“Why aren’t you blue as a wolf?” Axel tugs a piece of Isa’s hair gently.

Isa snorts and starts to cover his smile, but Axel catches his hand and squeezes it. After a moment, Isa squeezes back. “A rather boring reason. I told you I could answer cat questions. Wolf questions are much less in demand.”

Axel lifts their joined hands and studies Isa’s knuckles, slightly dirty, slightly scratched up, but warm. He lifts his eyes back to Isa’s, still so very close. Fire is one of the first spells Axel ever learned. He knows exactly the feeling of sparks gathering before they burst into open-flame. He also knows the struggle of building up a fire, encouraging the tiniest sparks to catch on tinder until they can grow.

Axel smiles at Isa, kisses his cheek, and then pulls back enough for them both to breathe. “I can ask both if you want to have some breakfast.”

A blush has spread over Isa’s nose, sparks catching on tinder. He squeezes Axel’s hand again. “Yes, breakfast.” Quickly, he leans forward and kisses Axel on the lips, quick and chaste, but Axel is left breathless all the same. “Thank you,” Isa whispers and then pulls away. Axel feels as if the very air is ready to ignite around him.

Isa has already slid away from him, standing in the doorway, and looking over his shoulder, that bright blue fall of hair so very, very long just as Axel imagined. So much for casual sparks. He gets and follows before Isa vanishes back into the daylight.


End file.
